


Unexpected Mates

by Blue_Night



Category: Stargate - All Media Types, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Allies to mates, Awkward Sexual Situations, Captivity, Coming In Pants, Developing Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Gift of Life, Hand Jobs, M/M, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Rituals, Post Series, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, Rescue Missions, Wraith Feeding, forced mating, open but hopeful ending, reluctance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-22 06:03:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13757823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Night/pseuds/Blue_Night
Summary: John finds himself trapped on board a hostile Wraith Hive once more, and he is glad to see Todd coming to his rescue. The way Todd wants to save him from the wrath of the other Wraith after John accidentially killing their queen is not quite what John had expected it to be though...





	Unexpected Mates

**Author's Note:**

> My dear readers,
> 
> I'm sorry that it takes me so long to update my Pegasus Alliance, but the last weeks have not been easy to put it nicely, and I'm nowhere near the state where I could write something that demands a real and difficult plot and story line. Oneshots and short WIPs without real plot are the only things I've been capable of recently.  
> I will do my best to get back to my Alliance as quickly as possible, but it can still take a few more weeks. I wrote this to make up for the long wait a little bit, I hope you will like it. Depending on the reactions and the feedback to this story, I might write a sequel with John and Todd sealing their unexpected mating bond in a more intimate way. :-)

“That didn't go exactly well, but at least they didn't try to drain me right away. Maybe they want to do it the slow way to make it more painful.” John looked around in the room he had been brought to, wondering why the drones that had dragged him away hadn't thrown him in one of the usual prison cells, where he normally resided in when he found himself in the position of an unwilling guest of another hostile Wraith ship once more.

Everything had gone so fast, one of the planets Atlantis traded with had sent an emergency call only a couple of hours ago, asking for help because the Wraith had attacked them out of the blue, starting their culling before the settlers had had a real chance to hide themselves in the caves where the beam of the Darts wouldn't get through to them.

John and his team had come to their aid, and the hazel-eyed colonel with the messy dark hair had secretly wished to have Todd by his side. The tricky bastard had become some kind of ally and once in a while teammate after Atlantis' return to Pegasus, but of course the damn Wraith was always notably absent whenever John would really have needed him to be a part of his team.

John had been the last one running back towards the gate when the Dart had caught him and beamed him into its buffer, the last thing he had seen before everything went black was Ronon shooting at something above his head. He could only hope that his team had made it back to Atlantis and that Rodney was already working on locating the Hive where he was trapped now.

John had been released from the buffer of the Dart some time after its return to its mother ship, and the grimly looking Wraith with sleek long white hair and the usual long black coat swinging around his slim legs had brought him to the throne hall right away – probably the Commander himself or one of the high ranking officers regarding that a complicated tattoo enclosed his left eye.

John was never really keen on having another talk with one of the admittedly beautiful and somewhat alluring, but usually pretty short-tempered and dangerous queens, and the few times he had been the 'guest' of a female Wraith had always ended badly and brought him nothing more than a terrible headache that had tortured him for weeks after his encounter with one of these absolutist rulers.

The queen of this Hive hadn't been any exception from this rule, if anything, then she had been even more dangerous and short-tempered, most likely due to her young age. She had obviously wanted to prove herself to her crew, ordering them to leave her alone with her prisoner, and she had acted much weirder than John knew it from his encounters with other, more experienced queens. He couldn't even tell why he was so sure that she had still been very young, he had simply known it the minute he had laid his eyes upon her face.

She had been a truly impressive and astonishing sight, sitting proudly in her throne with her long silvery and silky hair cascading over her back, but John had felt irritated, the unbidden thought of another shock of always rather tousled silvery hair distracting him from the hissing Wraith queen for a moment. John really didn't know why he should like the ruffled swab that adorned Todd's head better than the shimmering waterfall of silver-blond hair the young Wraith had possessed, but his irritation about her not having dark hair like most of the other queens simply wouldn't fade, and he had felt almost angry because of her hair color.

John had managed to piss her off right from the start by not paying enough attention to her, the image of how Todd had looked at him the last time he had been in Atlantis to join John's team on a mission refusing to leave him alone. The queen had tried to force John upon his knees to get his undivided attention, but to his and her surprise he had been able to withstand her, standing there with slightly spread legs and a defiantly lifted chin without wavering.

The impudent human staying upright on his feet and looking at her with unbroken pride in his eyes had apparently angered her pretty much, and the queen had attacked him without thinking, slamming her feeding hand into his chest in red fury. The knife Todd had gifted him with some time ago - which had been carefully hidden in his boot until that moment - had been in his hand before he had even realized what's going on, and even Wraith usually didn't survive a direct stab in their hearts. The agony of being fed on had turned into the blinding experience of the Gift of Life, filling him with delicious strength and energy, and John had stared down at the queen in confusion when everything was over after not more than barely a minute, waiting for her crew to come to him and kill him.

They had come to get him, the Commander storming into the throne hall with a loud furious shout, but they hadn't killed the human who had just stabbed their queen, but brought him to these rooms instead – which were surprisingly splendid and comfortably furnished. John had never visited Todd's quarters on his Hive, declining the Wraith's offer every single time the Commander had invited him into them, but he guessed that they must look like these quarters did, and being here somehow made John feel much more uncomfortable than the prison cell he had expected to be his temporary home would have made him feel.

John let out a sigh and slowly crossed the large room to stare out of the window and get perhaps the chance to find out which region of the Pegasus Galaxy the Hive had flown to. Rodney was his only hope now, and John prayed silently that his team would find him before it was too late.

 

***

 

John didn't know how much time had passed when the door to his luxurious prison cell opened again. He had of course tried to leave the quarters he had been thrown into, but the door had remained firmly shut, no matter what he had tried to make them glide open again. The drones had taken his knife away from him when they had dragged him away from their dead queen, and John still regretted its loss, although he really shouldn't care that much about a dagger he had gotten from a tricky and sometimes pretty infuriating ancient Wraith Commander.

There was nothing else he could use as a weapon except for the candelabrum that was standing on the heavy wooden table placed in the middle of what most likely served as a living room – if Wraith knew the meaning of such rooms and their purpose, that is – and John felt ridiculous and pathetic when he took the candlestick to use it for his protection.

His eyes must be playing tricks on him, because it couldn't really be that said tricky and infuriating old Wraith Commander was strolling into his quarters in a rather casual manner now, looking untroubled and carefree as if he wanted to invite John to take a walk with him along one of Atlantis' many piers.

“Sheppard, I'm pleased to see you in one piece! I should have known that you would get into trouble without my advice and guidance, you have obviously learned nothing from your various former encounters with female Wraith as it would seem.”

John was gaping at Todd, his hand holding the candelabrum still raised for attack, and it took him a moment before he had found his tongue again. “Todd, what the hell are you doing here?!” he found himself grousing to hide his embarrassment.

“What does it look like to you, Sheppard?” the Wraith gave back casually, dry mockery barely hidden in his multi-toned voice as he slowly made his way over to where John was standing behind the table, his glittering yellow-golden cat's eyes flickering attentively over John's figure as though to check him for possible damage. There was something else lurking behind the mockery though, something John couldn't quite really detect.

“Saving your ass of course to go with your language,” the annoying alien space vampire continued when the human colonel didn't answer to his rhetorical question. Todd pursed his lips thoughtfully as he regarded John with slightly narrowed eyes. “I pride myself on knowing you humans much better than most Wraith will ever do, but I still don't get the human habit of cursing in almost every second sentence – even not after ten thousand years and having spent the last three of them in your truly refreshing and inspiring company to a rather large amount of time.”

John opened his mouth but snapped it close right away again without saying anything to this true statement, and he was torn between his relief to see Todd coming to his help and his annoyance about being mocked at this way. “I see. If that's your biggest concern at the moment, then there is still hope left that we will make it out of here I guess.”

“Oh, I do plan to get you out of here, Sheppard, even though it will most likely be a little bit more difficult than I'd already thought it to be at first,” Todd drawled, letting his clawed fingers glide over the dark wood of the large table in an almost loving way as he finished crossing the room to stop beside John.

“But you could show more enthusiasm about me coming to your rescue and perhaps lower this candlestick down again, because you attacking me with this thing would make it considerably more difficult for me to save you.”

“And why would that be the case?” John asked, but he did lower the candelabrum back onto the table, keeping his fingers wrapped around it – just in case he would yet need to use it against one of the hostile Wraith perhaps coming in.

“Because you attacking me would prove my words I've convinced the Commander of this Hive with to make him bring me to your quarters and let me talk to you a lie, Sheppard.” Todd tilted his head to the side and pursed his lips. “Even though I would perhaps be able to deceive him that you attacking your future mates with dangerous weapons is your way of showing your passion for them,” he mused with a quick sidelong glance at the heavy candelabrum.

John gaped at the Wraith with his mouth hanging open, his mind spinning with confusion. “My future mates?! Is this some kind of joke? You don't really think that I would ever let you come close enough to me to let you merely touch me – let alone...” John swallowed hard, incapable of uttering any other word.

Todd's face gave nothing away as he looked down at the hazel-eyed human, but the way he crossed his arms before his chest told John that his reaction annoyed the ancient male.

“No joke, I can assure you, Sheppard. No Wraith would ever joke about such a serious topic. My kind is taking the act of mating much more seriously than humans normally tend to do, I can assure you that much. Wraith are not known for casual one night stands.”

“You're normally too busied with draining humans for that, I guess,”John murmured more to himself, but Todd had of course heard him nonetheless thanks to his sharp ears, glaring at him with narrowed eyes. The human colonel forced himself to meet the glittering golden gaze, but he stepped back and clenched his fingers around the candelabrum until his knuckles turned white. “I see. I didn't mean to offend you, Todd,” he offered a halfhearted apology, sensing that it wouldn't get him anywhere if he pissed the Wraith off more than he already seemed to be after John's horrified protest.

“Would you please be so kind to enlighten me why you pretending to be my future mate is the only way to get me out of here, then?”

“Not pretending, Sheppard. They would know it if we tried to fake our mating-bond and deceive them this way.” Todd turned away from him and stalked over to the window to stare outside. “There are actually two ways to try and leave this Hive again – either fighting or mating. You'd probably prefer the fighting, but believe me when I tell you that us trying to fight our way out of here would only lead to both of us being killed before we'd even come near the Dart bay. There are more than two hundred angry Wraith waiting outside these quarters, and each of them is thirsting for revenge.”

John hadn't known that there were so many Wraith on board this Hive, and he was reasonable enough to know that they wouldn't stand a chance against so many fighters, each of them possessing inhuman strength and the ability of recovering even from being shot several times.

“You have a point here, I guess.” John loosened his tight grip around the candelabrum for the tiniest bit.

“But if all of them are thirsting for revenge like that - why would you mating with me keep them from killing us... me... in the first place?”

Todd didn't look at him even though he must feel John's pleading glance on his back, and his stiff posture was a clear sign that he felt as uncomfortable as John did – at least almost as uncomfortable. He was no prisoner of the hostile Commander as far as John knew, so he could probably walk out of these rooms and leave John behind without risking to be killed by two hundred angry Wraith.

“Because I told the Commander that you had already accepted my claim before his queen attempted to claim you. Trying to form a mating bond with someone who is already promised to another Wraith is a serious crime in our culture, and he was willing to let me talk to you and complete our bond here as a proof that you only killed her to defend yourself and honor your chosen future mate. If you refuse to become my mate here and now, then he will kill either both of us, or he will kill me and take you as his mate by force, Sheppard.” Todd's voice was strangely impassive, as if he wanted to hide something from him.

John was confused. “But his queen didn't try to mate with me, Todd! We didn't even come as far that we could have had a proper talk between two adults like it should actually be between intelligent grown ups – let alone mate! She tried to force me on my knees, I withstood her, and she attacked me before I could even blink, slamming her hand into me like every Wraith does at some point of what you apparently consider having a 'normal' conversation with us humans.”

“You withstood her? Now that's interesting – probably the reason why she...” Todd's voice trailed off, and he shot him a brief look over his shoulder before staring out of the window again. There was a rather long pause, and John felt his throat tightening with fear. The damn Wraith was right, he would indeed prefer to fight his way to the Dart bay, but they wouldn't make it there alive, not with two hundred Wraith haunting them down.

Todd's next words came out surprisingly soft, and the ancient male finally turned around to John again. “You couldn't know that, but the queen of this Hive was ready to mate for the first time when they brought you to the throne hall. If I had to guess, then I would say that she didn't expect this to happen right during the culling, and she was too inexperienced to keep her instincts and needs under control. You being able to withstand her attempts to oppress your mind just boosted her urge to mate with the next strong male crossing her way, and things escalated from there.  
She tried to claim you by sharing life-force with you to make you mate with her willingly – which you took as her wanting to feed on you – and you stabbed her and involuntarily reversed the process with that – making her give you back what she had taken together with what was left of her own remaining life-force.  
This however led to her leaving her pheromones all over you, and the pheromones of a queen ready to mate are the strongest aphrodisiac possible for every male Wraith. You're irresistible for every Wraith of this Hive now, and this although you are human and not Wraith. Her crew either wants to see you mated with one of them – which would normally be their Commander in this case - or to kill you to make sure that no Wraith from another Hive will get their hands on you - except for the one Wraith you had already accepted as your future mate before your encounter with their queen, that is.  
Her Commander was just about to come to you and claim you as his own mate when I contacted him after Dr. McKay's message, and it was a rather close call, I can tell you. He is driven by the urge to claim the one his queen had found worthy enough to mate with her, regardless of you being human actually, and it was difficult to keep him from doing so. Only the fact that you had used my knife to kill her saved you, Sheppard. I told him that it was my mating gift for you.”

“Mating gift?” John blindly grabbed the backrest of the chair next to him to have something to hold on to, and only his pride kept him from slumping down on the piece of furniture. It was bad enough that he had to look up at Todd when they were both standing, and having to crane his neck even further because of a sitting position to be able to look Todd in the eyes was out of the question.

“You don't want to tell me that your intention when you gave me the dagger was to secretly propose to me this way!” he demanded, unconsciously holding his breath as he waited for Todd's answer. The mere thought of the Wraith proposing to him was too ridiculous to think it to the end, wasn't it?

The alien male averted his eyes, and there was a rather uncomfortable silence stretching between them. John swallowed, queasiness pooling in his stomach. “Fu...” John started, when Todd didn't say anything, just to swallow the rest of the word, Todd's remark about the human need to curse still audible in his head. “I can't believe it! You gave me the dagger as some kind of betrothal gift! I would have expected something like this coming from Ronon... but surely not from a Wraith!”

Todd still refused to meet his gaze, but his voice sounded truly hurt when he asked quietly: “Is it so hard to believe that Wraith have feelings, Sheppard? We're a telepathic species, and we're much closer related to humans than you want to give us credit for – your own experiments with the retro-virus prove that. Our world of emotion is for sure as deep and rich as yours is, and you're for sure the most remarkable human I've ever met in ten thousand years.”

John felt ashamed of his reaction all of a sudden. “I didn't think that Wraith don't have feelings – and I never doubted that you have feelings, Todd. I just find it hard to believe that your feelings for me go that deep that you proposed to me in your own unique way. I mean – you even refuse to call me by my first name! How could I have known that the knife you gave me for my protection was actually an engagement present?”

“You'd never given me explicit permission to call you by your first name, Sheppard. I know that this intimate addressing is normally reserved for your close friends only.”

John stared at Todd's back, fighting the urge to pinch himself because he felt as if being trapped in a weird dream. “I see,” was all he could stammer, carefully reaching out to touch Todd's stiff back under the heavy black coat. “It is about time to change that then. I... I'd be pleased if you called me John in the future – Todd.”

The Wraith very slowly turned around to face him, his face stoic, but John knew that he only tried to hide his feelings with that. “How many people know about your knife having been a betrothal gift?” he wanted to know, and Todd hesitated. “I don't think that our culture is common knowledge among the humans living in Pegasus – except for our worshipers - but even they don't know as much about our mating rituals and laws as you probably think that they know. Teyla Emagan could perhaps know more about these things, but I guessed that you wouldn't want to talk about me giving you presents to her or Ronon Dex anyway...”

John cleared his throat. “You were right with that, I didn't tell them about your gift. Only Rodney knows about the dagger.” He rubbed his forehead because a really bad headache had started to pound behind his temples. “So your secret engagement present saved me from being killed and forced into a 'marriage' with the Commander of this Hive in the first place.” the hazel-eyed colonel grimaced, “not to mention that it saved me from being raped by this queen...”

“Yes, it did, John.”

“Hmm, I have to thank you then.” John peered up at the tall male from under his lashes. “The thought of you having to mate with me to get me out of here is nothing you're totally opposed to then - if I understood you correctly, I mean?”

“That's right, Shep... John. I know that it's different for you. Please believe me that I never wanted to force you into this situation with you not having any chance to decline my offer.” Todd went silent, and John could see him clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides, a clear sign that the Wraith was speaking the truth. “If you prefer to fight your way to the Dart bay, then I will do my best to make sure that you'll have a real chance to escape.”

Only a few months ago, John wouldn't have hesitated to accept Todd's offer, telling himself that he'd rather watch him die than ever let him touch him again. John had still nightmares about the feeding on a regular basis, and he had never really forgiven Todd for what he had done, although he of course knew that neither of them would have escaped the Genii without Todd feeding on him after the long years of starvation.

But everything had changed since they had returned to Pegasus, and it really wasn't Todd's fault that John had been caught by the Wraith of this Hive. He could have stayed where he was without caring about John's fate, but he had come to save him regardless of his own safety, and John wouldn't turn his back on him. He had done much worse things in his life, mating with a Wraith just added to the list of terrible decisions he had been forced to make over the past years.

“No, we wouldn't stand any chance against two hundred angry Wraith,” he said with a sigh, cocking his head to the side. “Is there any chance to undo the mating when we're back in Atlantis? Human marriages can be annulled under special circumstances, is there any possibility that we can get divorced again?”

Todd returned his gaze impassively. “The mating bond between two Wraith can't be undone again, John, it lasts until one of them dies. There has never been a mating bond between a Wraith and a human in our history as far as I know it though, so there might be the chance of getting 'divorced' after our return to Atlantis, but I can't promise you that for sure at this point.”

John pursed his lips. “I see. Thank you for your honesty. I need a moment to think about all of this. You must understand that this came out of the blue, until half an hour ago, I didn't even know that the queen didn't want to kill me but rather mate with me...,” John couldn't suppress a shudder wrecking him at this thought, “...let alone that you had obviously secretly longed to... come closer to me for quite some time. I need a few minutes to digest this astonishing news.”

Todd nodded his head, and he looked subdued – if Wraith could look this way, that is. “Of course, John.” He circled the table and sat down on the chair opposite to where John was standing, closing his eyes and laying his flat hands onto the dark wood. John glanced at him for a few seconds before turning away and walking over to the window, taking Todd's place there to stare out of it as he tried to get his inner turmoil back under control. He had always thought that mistrust, unwilling respect and hate were the only appropriate feelings he could have for the Wraith he had formed a strange and unwanted but nevertheless strong bond with when they had escaped from the Genii together, but he must admit that the thought of becoming Todd's mate – whatever that actually meant – wasn't as scary and disgusting as it should actually be.

Quite the opposite, John had felt drawn in to the Wraith right from the beginning, he had only not been able to admit his feelings even to himself until this day. He probably even desired him, a dangerous alien male creature that killed humans in order to survive – whereas Todd being male was most likely the least of the many reasons why John should keep his distance from the tall Commander. But, oddly enough, Todd being male had always been John's biggest issue when it came to the unbidden attraction he felt towards the Wraith with the tousled silvery hair and the star-like tattoo. The Pegasus Galaxy was far away enough from Earth to not really care about the homophobia that was still a problem for a lot of military personnel, but John had used it as an excuse to deny his feelings for Todd.

Now he was forced to come to terms with his desire and longing for a Wraith who was still considered a lethal enemy by most of the New Lanteans, and the John he had been only a few months ago wouldn't even have thought about mating with Todd for just one second, but insisted on fighting their way to the Dart bay instead.

But the new John knew what Todd had risked when he had come to Atlantis to help John saving Earth from the Super-Hive – what Todd had risked again today to save the human colonel who always threatened to kill him with the next best opportunity – and the new John couldn't deny his feelings for this special Wraith any longer, nor did he want to deny them anymore.

John was tired of fighting against his desire just to keep up appearances, and he averted his eyes from the dark space and the blinking stars to search for Todd's gaze. Pegasus was his home now, and Todd belonged inseparable to his new life, so he'd better stop running away from him.

The Wraith opened his yellow-golden cat's eyes when he felt John's intense gaze upon his face, and they looked at each other silently for a long moment.

John swallowed, and he uttered the first words coming to his mind. “Is there any chance to get my knife back afterwards? I'd really miss my engagement present if the Commander would keep it.”

Todd's eyes lit up at that, and he rose to his feet to bridge the distance between them. “I'll do my best to get it back for you, Sheppard.” He came to a halt when he had reached the hazel-eyed colonel, carefully reaching out to touch John's stubbly cheek. “ Are you sure about that, John?”

John offered him a weak smile as he shrugged his shoulders. “No, I'm not. But it's the only way to leave this Hive alive and unharmed, I guess, and I think that I could get used to the thought of being the mate of a Wraith... your mate, Todd. I would only be grateful if we could just go through with this... I really don't want to stay here for longer than necessary.”

Todd nodded his head in understanding. “I will try to make this as little awkward for you as possible, John. Humans and Wraith are compatible when it comes to the act of mating and reproduction, but there are of course some differences between our bodies as you probably already know from Dr. Beckett's experiments... mostly in size and...”

The ancient Commander paused sheepishly, and John got the impression that he would have blushed crimson red – or green in his case - if he had actually been able to blush.

Todd's face was impassive again, his voice shallow, and John felt a sudden rush of emotions course through him, fear mixed with excitement, desire and passion, heated anger at Todd's behalf that the Wraith had been forced into this in some way as much as John himself. Todd had surely not imagined his proposal to John to happen on board a hostile Wraith Hive as the only way to save the human's life with that, and he could literally taste the discomfort and helplessness coming off in waves of Todd even though his senses were much duller than the senses of any Wraith normally were. It was clear that Todd tried to keep his own emotions at bay for John's sake, and the dark-haired colonel instinctively stepped forward to touch Todd's arm.

“Is there any chance to do this without really mating?” he asked, glad that his voice obeyed his brain's order, because this conversation definitely belonged to the most awkward talks he had ever had. “I mean mating here on board this Hive with all these Wraith waiting for us to finish...”

Todd nodded again, some of the stiffness leaving his shoulders, but his voice was strangled with embarrassment when he spoke up after another moment of uncomfortable silence. “Yes, there is. I can share life-force with you in a special way, but one of us needs to... climax during the sharing, and I have to mark your throat visibly. The pheromones of arousal will change my enzyme and both of our scents with that, and the throat of a Wraith is their most vulnerable spot. Offering our throat to our mates is the biggest proof of trust any Wraith can show.”

John felt relief that they didn't have to do 'it' to become mates, at least not here and now. He might be okay with becoming Todd's mate to get out of here, but he really wasn't ready to sleep with Todd under these circumstances.

“So we actually don't need to undress or use a bed to form a mating bond that will convince the Commander of this Hive of its rightfulness, I must admit that I'm glad to hear that. The other things... hmm, I don't feel comfortable with the thought of wearing a hickey on my neck, but if it has to be, then just do it.” John forced himself to look Todd straight in the eyes. “About the second thing you mentioned – the Gift of Life can actually do that to us humans...” he drawled, pulling a throaty chuckle from the Wraith that calmed John's nerves considerably.

“Not only to humans, John, to us Wraith as well, believe me.”

“I'm glad to hear that too, it makes everything at least a little bit less awkward.” John sighed. “Fair enough, let's get on with it. How shall we do it? I really don't want to get caught with my pants around my ankles by the Wraith waiting outside, even though coming in my pants like a horny teenager making out with their first crush is nothing I can find truly appealing either.”

Todd regarded him with curiously glittering eyes. “Has that ever happened to you, John Sheppard?” he wanted to know, and John felt a bright red coloring his cheeks. He tried to scowl at the Wraith but failed miserably, opting for rolling his eyes and shaking his head instead.

“You don't expect me to answer to that, do you?”

“Your secret would be safe with me, but I respect your wish not to talk about it,” Todd said, sounding slightly disappointed, and John could feel a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth when he realized the funny side of their situation. “It would be better if I opened my jacket for this, right?” he asked, and the Wraith nodded. “Yes, indeed.”

John opened his uniform jacket, waiting for Todd's next move, and he couldn't suppress the visible shiver of both, fear and arousal, that ran down on his spine. Todd's expression softened, and he stroked John's cheek again. “You don't have to fear anything, John, I will not hurt you. Sharing life-force is different from the experience of feeding. The queen most likely reacted so violently because of her state, it was actually not her intention to hurt you either.”

“I'm not sure that I believe you when it comes to her, but I believe you that you won't hurt me, Todd,” John said, and he wasn't really surprised that he actually did trust Todd in this matter.

The tall male regarded him attentively, and John returned his gaze without trying to hide his feelings from him. “You should turn around, John, lean with your back against me.”

The hazel-eyed colonel obeyed, turning around and leaning against Todd's chest with his back. He stiffened when Todd pressed his feeding hand against his sternum, but it was a soft and almost tender touch, not the hard and violent slamming he knew from the way Todd had fed on him when they had first met. “I will start with the Gift of Life, but I also need to take from you. I'm freshly fed, so I will give you back more than I'll take from you, John.”

“Okay,” John managed through gritted teeth, inhaling and exhaling slowly to ready himself for what was about to come. The delicious stream of bright energy floating into him was something he would never get used to, and John gasped out and arched into the touch of Todd's hand, a loud moan escaping his lips. He felt strong and alive, every cell of his body brimming with energy, and he was rock-hard in his BDUs within a matter of seconds, aching with need and arousal. Todd's low growl tickled his sensitive ear. And John tilted his head to the side without thinking, offering his throat to the Wraith invitingly.

Sharp teeth grazed playfully over his heated flesh, a warm, agile and eager tongue licking up the salty droplets of sweat that had formed there. John cried out when Todd bit down, drawling blood in the process, but he didn't try to pull away from the sharp teeth, just pressed back against the alien male with a heavy shudder of sheer lust. It pulsed and throbbed even in his fingertips, his toes and under his hairline, and the sweet ache when Todd reversed the process and started to suckle at his life-force only boosted his desire to new levels, even though John wouldn't have thought it possible.

“You're so delicious, John Sheppard, no other human has ever tasted as deliciously to me as you do.” Todd's voice was only a low rumble, and he sucked at his throat in the same steady rhythm he fed on him, his left hand searching its way into John's pants to cup his erection. John's eyes fell shut when cool clawed fingers wrapped themselves around his hard shaft, stroking up and down on it, and he grabbed Todd's hips with both hands to have something to hold onto, digging his fingers into the heavy black garment of the armor-like coat.

“Oh, Todd... this is...” the Wraith pushing back into John's trembling body what he had taken from him silenced John, the sensations coursing through him stealing the breath from his lips. He was vaguely aware of the hardness poking against the small of his back, Todd's desire for him tangible even through the heavy clothing the Wraith was wearing. John bucked his hips up against the Wraith, torn between the urge to rub his backside against Todd's hard cock and his longing to press his own erection against the hand massaging him so skillfully. He was leaking and pulsing, heat pooling deep in his abdomen as he felt the tension of his climax build in his groin.

The steady stream of their life-forces flowing back and forth between them made his mind spin with raw desire, and John tightened his hard grip around Todd's narrow hips to pull him closer, pushing back against the Wraith as best as he could. The abused flesh of his throat throbbed like his cock did, Todd's sucking sending jolts of electric white pleasure through his body and straight into his groin. John could hear himself moan and grunt with the painful lust the Wraith aroused in him, but he was far too gone to care about the embarrassing sounds that came out of his bitten lips, everything inside him screaming with the need for release.

It took only a few more seconds when Todd fed him with his own strength again until John was coming hard all over himself and Todd's fingers, his desire and lust overwhelming him like he had never experienced it before that day. His harsh scream of ecstasy echoed in the gloomy room, pleasure erupting from his cock in fast jets. Todd kept feeding him with his own tempting strength until John slumped against him, his knees buckling from the force of his release.

He felt pleasantly fuzzy and sated, but Todd was still hard at his back, and John instinctively rocked against him until the Wraith suddenly tensed up, shivering several times, his guttural snarl of satisfaction muffled where his lips were still latching on John's throat.

They stayed like this for a few minutes, listening to each other's breathing finally slowing as they came down from their high, John wincing when Todd reluctantly drew his hand back from his softening member.

“Urgh, at least I'm not the only one having to walk around in wet pants,” he murmured, grinning at the indignant growl that made its way to his ears. “Don't complain, you're in the much better position here, your long coat will cover most of the mess.”

Todd stroked over his chest before drawing his feeding hand back, and John felt strangely naked and vulnerable without the Wraith's comforting touch all of a sudden. He wasn't sure whether his feelings came from the mating bond that had formed between them, or if he had already felt this way before without wanting to admit it, and he hurried to bring his underwear and pants back in order as best as he could with the wetness inside and close his jacket again to hide his confusion.

Todd waited patiently for him to turn around and face him as his bonded mate for the first time, and when John couldn't bring himself to do so, the Wraith gently took his shoulders to make the human look at him.

“There is no need to be ashamed of anything, John. No Wraith will laugh at you or dare to treat you disrespectful. I'm outranking the Commander of this Hive because I am the High Commander of ten powerful Hives and not only one like him, and you as my chosen mate outrank him as well therefore. Your pants will be dry by the time we're back in Atlantis, please don't worry about that too much.”

“Uhm, okay, I wasn't aware of that. This mating bond is more complicated than I'd anticipated it to be.”

“You will learn, John. I won't rush you, I will give you the time you need to get used to us being mates, you have my word on that. Plus, no one needs to know about our special bond until you're ready for that. Other Wraith will know it because of our changed scent – even when we're not together, but the human sense of smell is not sensitive enough.” John unconsciously lifted his hand to his throat where he could still feel Todd's sharp teeth, but the Commander waved his concern away. “You can still tell them that the mark comes from your fight with the queen. The mark will fade except for a small scar and a slightly darker spot that will stay permanently, the collar of your jacket will hide the scar and the darker spot most of the time.” he offered understandingly, and the hazel-eyed colonel relaxed gratefully.

“Thank you, Todd. It's not that I regret what we've done or that I am ashamed of you, it's just... complicated.” John bit his lip, unsure what to do next, and he surprised himself when he stretched to press a quick kiss onto the hairless cool cheek of his mate. Todd smiled at him, not the wolfish grin he usually showed but a real smile, gently taking John's elbow and jerking his head in the direction of the door.

“You don't have to explain yourself, John, I was serious when I said that I would give you as much time as you'll need for learning to accept me as your mate. Shall we leave now? I promised Dr. McKay to bring you back to Atlantis as quickly as possible.”

John nodded with a relieved sigh. “Yes, let's leave this place, I really don't want to give the two hundred Wraith of this Hive more time to rethink their willingness to content themselves with us becoming mates instead of taking revenge for their queen.”

He followed Todd to the door which glided to the side when Todd pressed his hand against the panel at the wall, and he didn't feel half as desperate and bad about his new bond with Todd as he had expected to feel when Todd had first told him about it an hour ago. He didn't know what being the chosen mate of a Wraith meant at this point, but he suspected that he would find out more about it sooner rather than later, and he was actually looking forward to that.

The Pegasus Galaxy had become his home a long time ago, and having a tricky and sometimes pretty infuriating but also pretty infatuating Wraith Commander as his mate might not be the worst thing in his life that had ever happened to him.

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't be silent readers but leave kudos and comments for me and my boys, it would really mean a lot to me. <33


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